Zoe was well into her third trimester, she and Max were getting impatient waiting to meet their baby. They had both been extra cautious with the pregnancy, they hadn't let themselves get too over excited. Max had ensured Zoe was relaxed as she could be throughout the last six months, their honeymoon in Spain had been the perfect chill out they needed.
"I wish we'd found out what it was," Zoe said to Max as they lay in bed.
"Come on Zoe, we had this chat, this is one of the only real surprises left in life, let's make the most of it!" Max said.
"I guess, I'd have just felt more organised." Zoe explained.
"What's to organise? Whether the clothes are blue or pink? You said yourself white is a perfect colour for a newborn, besides,we'll be inundated with clothes and presents when the baby arrives, you'll get your chance don't worry!" Max laughed.
"We haven't even decided on names Max." Zoe said.
"Zo, we've still got four weeks left."
"Have you thought of any?" Zoe asked.
"I'm leaving my options open, however, I don't know how you would feel about it but, if we have a boy why don't we give him the middle name Richard? After your dad?" Max asked.
"Oh Max, that's so thoughtful , I'd love that, thank you." Zoe replied.
"That way a part of him would live on through the baby." Max kissed his wife.
"What if it's a girl?!" Zoe asked.
"Hmm, yeah that's a tricky one," Max thought, "fingers crossed for a boy then!"
"Max! As long as it's healthy that's all that matters." Zoe scolded.
"I know! And it is, we've seen it remember, Dr T said everything was looking well." Max said.
"I can't believe we've got this far, I honestly didn't think the baby would survive." Zoe said resting her head on Max's shoulder.
"It's a fighter just like its daddy!" Max said, Zoe laughed.
"I've been thinking, as we've mentioned so many names before, why don't we each write down a boys name and a girls name and save them until the baby is born, once it's born we can reveal them and choose our favourite out of the two?" Zoe asked.
"That sounds like a great idea," Max said, "I hope you're thinking what I'm thinking!"
"Max! This is serious, I don't want you choosing Batman as our child's name!" Zoe told him angrily.
"All will be revealed Zoe, now come on, we have to get to work." Max laughed as he went into the bathroom, it was probably best not to wind her up in her current hormonal state. Zoe still had a couple of weeks left until her maternity leave, she was working as far up to her due date as she could even if Connie had restricted her to admin and basic injuries.
"There's somewhere I need to go first." Zoe told Max. "Are you ok making your own way in?"
"Where are you going?" Max asked.
"Don't be nosy!" Zoe teased, "you'll see later."
Zoe left earlier than Max and got into her car, she was still driving her beloved Audi, she was going to drive it as much as she could before she had to trade it in for a more practical family car. She'd tried to persuade Max that she should still keep the Audi however Max was having none of it.
She felt the baby kick as she fastened her seat belt. "See, you think we should keep the car don't you baby?" Zoe rubbed her stomach, the baby kicked again. "I'll tell your dad that later."
Zoe was popping into town before her shift, she'd seen something she'd wanted to get Max, it was a new guitar that he'd admired a few weeks earlier. She knew the pregnancy had been tough on him too and she wanted to get him something to show how much she'd appreciated his support.
She approached the roundabout checking it was safe to pull out, as she did, she didn't see the car that ploughed into hers, the car that caused hers to topple over and send her into complete darkness.
